Photos: The Land of Love - Life of Nomads at Chaldoron
Following photos show the life of the nomads in Chaldoron, Northwestern Iran. Due to its mild climate and green grazing fields, every year Chaldoran is host to nomads and their animals. In 1514 the Ottoman forces of Selim the Grim devastatingly defeated Safavid Shah Ismail's formerly invincible Persian-Azari army at Chaldoran. Of 27,000 Iranian soldiers a phenomenal 26,000 died, cut down by Selim's newfangled secret weapon, the cannon. - 11/17/09
Photos: Mobile cultural programs on buses entertain Tehrani citizens
The Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality has launched a new project using buses in different districts of the city as a mobile means of presenting cultural programs to its citizens. - 11/14/09
Happy Children at Mexican Embassy in Tehran
Some months ago Cultural section of the Mexican Embassy in Tehran sent out an invitation to many of Tehran schools inviting their students to take part in 13th Children's drawing Contest" launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, primarily aimed at Mexicans children abroad, but also open to children around the world. -Syma Sayyah, Tehran - 11/13/09
The Bakhtiari Alphabet: Cima Sedigh's Educational Documentary
The educational documentary movie, The Bakhtiari Alphabet, closely follows the harmonic and sustainable journey of life as practiced daily by one of the still major migratory tribes in south/southwest Iran, the Bakhtiaris. The lifestyle of hunter-gatherer-herders, as practiced by our common human ancestry throughout most our history, is now practiced by a sporadic number of tribes in the world and as typified by the Bakhtiari and Qashqai tribes of Iran. -Davood N. Rahni - 11/12/09
Photos: Workers at Qazvin Bazaar
These photos by Sina Shiri are snapshots from the life of some of the people working at the Bazzar in Qazvin, Iran. The livelihood of these people is dependent on a small cart that they use to carry products around the Bazaar. - 11/9/09
The Enigma of Religion
The purpose of this article is to share some ideas which involve religion in our daily lives. Religion promises great things after life. It offers incentives to do honorable and good deeds. Is there life after death? -Mohammad Ala - 11/9/09
Sadi Afshar stresses need to teach the youth siah-bazi
The veteran Iranian performer of siah-bazi Sadi Afshar said that these traditional types of plays should be taught to the younger generation. Siah-bazi, a type of folk play featuring a blackfaced harlequin who stirs the audience to laughter with amusing improvisations, is very difficult to teach and perhaps only two artists per year learn this art form, he said. - 11/8/09
Interview: Iranian-American Author Discusses Islamic Dress
Iranian-American Azadeh Moaveni, is the author of the best-selling memoirs "Honeymoon in Tehran" and "Lipstick Jihad." She spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Kristin Deasy about Iran's strict Islamic dress code on one hand, and the banning of Islamic headscarves in Uzbekistan on the other. - 11/8/09
On the Iranian Diaspora
Iran is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. But what of the over three million Iranians outside Iran? -Sam Sasan Shoamanesh - 11/4/09
The Bakhtiari Alphabet, a documentary on nomadic life in Iran, to be screened at Sacred Heart University
Directed by Reza Ghadiani and Sacred Heart University Associate Professor Cima Sedigh, this film follows the Bakhtiari tribe, a nomadic community in Iran. It provides cultural insight and engaging issues related to the challenges of educating children in a nomadic community. - 11/2/09
Iran's Poor Face a Logjam in the Labyrinths of Work
When you get lost in the commotion of the city, it is only the workers who can show you extreme pain and expose you to the unsavory smell of life. Believe me, this is true. Given the current Iranian economy, being a worker is very difficult. It permanently exposes you to the bitter taste of life. -ILNA - 11/2/09
A Culture of Death
"Innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court." -- Article 37, chapter III of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran -By Fariba Amini - 10/28/09
Where's The Best Place To Live? Prosperity Index Offers A Few Surprises
What's your idea of the best place in which to live? Many people would probably answer that palm trees and a gleaming beach would be a good start to their idea of earthly paradise. But in real life, the country which scores best on a whole range of economic and quality-of-life issues is a good deal colder. -Breffni O'Rourke - 10/27/09
Photos: The Underprivileged in Shahr-e Rey, Iran
Shahr-e Rey is the oldest existing city in the province of Tehran, Iran. The city is estimated to be more than five thousand years old, and was built during the Median Empire. It was known in Classical times as Rhagae. Ray is richer than many other ancient cities in the number of its historical monuments -Photos by Arash Khamooshi, ISNA - 10/26/09
Photos: Exercising in the Park, Tehran
Following people show the health conscious residents of Tehran, Iran's capital city, engaging in various exercises in a park. - 10/21/09
Photos: The Life of Nomads in Iran
Nomadic people are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. Although the nomadic population of Iran has dramatically decreased in the 20th century, Iran still has one of the largest nomadic populations in the world, an estimated 1.5 million in a country of about 70 million. -Photos by Raouf Mohseni, Mehr - 10/20/09
Photos: A Mount Tochal Wedding
Two members of koohsar mountain climbing group held a symbolic wedding ceremony on top of Mount Tochal north of the capital city Tehran. Mount Tochal is a mountain in the Alborz range and adjacent to metropolitan Tehran, Iran. The mountain has a 12 km long ridgeline. -Photos by Rooholla Vahdati ISNA - 10/17/09
Cinema Verite Festival kicks off in Tehran
Last August, 136 Iranian documentary filmmakers announced that they would not participate in the festival in a letter published by the media. - 10/16/09
Photos: In recognition of World Sight Day
Following photos show blind Iranian children and youngsters engaging in educational and social activities. World Sight Day (WSD) is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. - 10/14/09
Photos: Children's Day Celebration in Mashhad, Iran
World Children's Day is celebrated annually in Iran on October 8. Following photos by Maryam Royaee show the festivities in the provincial city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran. - 10/12/09
Photos: Children in Qazvin, Iran
World Children's Day is celebrated annually in Iran on October 8. ISNA photographer Sina Shiri marked the occasion by taking snapshots of children in the street of the city of Qazvin. - 10/10/09
Photos: Children's Day Celebration in Tehran - Actress Mahtab Karamati says "Listen to Children"
Actress Mahtab Karamati, the Iranian UNICEF goodwill ambassador, sent a message on the occasion of World Children's Day emphasizing the necessity for listening to what children have to say. - 10/8/09
Photos: Life in the Village of Anbouh in Gilan, Iran
Following photos by Narges Tankberis have captured the people and scenery of the beautiful village of Anbouh located near the city of Rudbar in Iran's northern province of Gilan. Rudbar or Roodbar is a city situated in the mountainous region of Gilan Province in Iran. - 10/5/09
Photos: Mashhad Ardehal Rug Washing Ceremony
It is said that when Soltan Ali was killed by the governor's forces in an uneven battle in Ardehal, the people of the area rushed to the place and wrapped his body in a rug. They then washed the body in a creek nearby before burying him. Since then thousands of people hold a ceremony each year on the second Friday of the Iranian month of Mehr to mark the death of Soltan Ali. -Photos by Sajjad Safari - 10/4/09
Photos: Towhid Golmakan Senior Citizens House in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran
In honor of International Day of Older Persons: The UN General Assembly designated 1 October the International Day of Older Persons by resolution 45/106 of 14 December 1990, following up on initiatives such as the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing and endorsed later that year by the General Assembly. -Photos by Amin Khosroshahi, ISNA - 10/1/09
Photos: Harvesting Lime in Roudan, Hormozgan province of Iran
Following photos shows people in the town of Roudan in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan province harvesting limes. Lime is a term referring to a number of different fruits (generally citruses), both species and hybrids, which have their origin in the Himalayan region of India, and which are typically round, green to yellow in color -Photos by Hossein Heydari, ISNA - 9/30/09
Photos: The Gathering of Hijab in Varzaneh, the Town of White Veils
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space. Following photos show the gathering of hijab in Varzaneh, a small town located east of city of Isfahan in central Iran, known as the town of white veils. -Photos by Hossein Baharloo, ISNA - 9/29/09
Cost of marriage in Tehran: Thirty Grands
According to a research conducted by the Tehran Shahid Beheshti University, it costs at least 30 million tomans (about $29,000) per person in the capital city of Tehran to get married. - 9/26/09
Iran Unbowed in London: Three Generations of Contemporary Artists from Iran - October 10-24
Iran Unbowed is a response to the current popularity of Iranian art on the international stage. Alongside established Masters such as Abbas Kiarostami, Farideh Lashai and Parviz Tanavoli and leading mid-career artists such as Pooya Ayranpour and Samira Alikhanzadeh; Iran Unbowed features two artists – Hossein Cheraghchi and Rasool Soltani – whose work has not previously been shown in London. - 9/25/09
Winners of Video Challenge Create Videos on the Meaning of Democracy
Photographer Rodin Hamidi lives in the United Arab Emirates. He left his native Iran three years ago because of a lack of creative freedom. His video shows that democracy requires persistence, even when others try to destroy it. - 9/25/09
Photos: Blossom (First Graders) Festival in Tehran
On the occasion of start of the new school year in Iran, a festival is held to welcome the first graders to schools. Following photos are from the schools in the capital city Tehran. Tehran is the largest city in the Middle East and is the 16th most populated city in the world with a population of around 7,800,000 people. -Photos by Mona Hoobehfekr, ISNA - 9/23/09
Photos: Blossom (First Graders) Festival in Ahvaz, Iran
On the occasion of start of the new school year in Iran, a festival is held to welcome the first graders to schools. Following photos are from the schools in the southwestern city of Ahvaz. -Photos by Amin Nazari, ISNA - 9/22/09
Disparaging Islam and the Iranian-American Identity: To Snuggle or to Struggle
Reader, you may have noticed that Islam is under heavy fire these days in the West. I want to argue that while Islam is susceptible to various important and serious criticisms, it is wrong and unfair to demonize Islam, and in some ways, it is counterproductive for Iranian-Americans to uncritically go along with this trend. -Sasan Seifikar, Netherlands - 9/21/09
Iran Frees Thousands of Poor Prisoners
Iran says its largest charity organization is bailing out 21,000 prisoners for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The gesture was announced Tuesday as the country marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan with Eid celebrations and family gatherings. - 9/21/09
Photos:Opening Ceremony, 41st Olympics of Armenians
The 41st Armenian Olympics opening ceremony was held at Ararat stadium last Monday night in Tehran. The competitions will be held for eight days in eight fields: Futsal, Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Chess, Track & Field. Athletes from Tehran, Tabriz, Orumieh, Isfahan, Shiraz, Ahvaz and Armenia Republic are participating in this event. -Photos by Hemmat Khahi, ISNA - 9/18/09
Ahmadinejad: 'We are not in the race for development'
"Can the world imagine a template for the past, present and future of the human society which is superior to the Ali's and Mahdi's society?" he asked, referring to the first Imam of the Shia Muslims and the 12th Imam, who is believed by Shias to be alive but invisible. - 9/11/09
Photos: Allahnazar Village in Sarakhs, Iran
Sarakhs is both a city and also a 8407 km-square district of Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs town was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries and a famous school of architects. Much of the original city site is now just across the border at Saraghs in Turkmenistan. -Photos by Amin Khosroshahi, ISNA - 9/5/09
Interview: Prosecutor In 1994 Argentina Bombing Implicates Iran
RFE/RL's Radio Farda correspondent Mohammad Reza Kazemi interviewed Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor handling the case of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina. The prosecution asserts that the attack, which killed 85 people and wounded 300, can be traced to Hizbullah and Iran. - 8/30/09
Rupture
Deeply concerned and tearful about what is going on, on this land, another me can't stop laughing at the absurdity of it all: Is it really true and not a dream or a historical movie that more or less the same scenario-drama is getting repeated? Isn't it tragically ridiculous to be accused of the same crimes over and over again and be tortured in more or less the same underground 'no-man's lands"? Isn't it painfully hilarious? -Roya Monajem, Tehran - 8/28/09
Artists Use Images of the Veil to Explore Identity, Culture
The veil is the most visible icon of contemporary Islam, says the producer of an exhibition featuring works by artists from North America, the Middle East and Europe. "If you see a veil, you automatically think about Islam," said Andreas Stadler, director of the Austrian Cultural Forum, which hosted The Seen and the Hidden: [Dis]covering the Veil. The exhibition was part of Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas, a 10-day festival in New York City celebrating Islamic culture. -Carolee Walker - 8/27/09
Cigarette, drug smuggling on the rise in Iran
About six and a half billion cigarettes are smuggled into Iran per year, the managing director of the Iranian Tobacco Company said here on Tuesday. Being a neighbor of the biggest drug producer in the world, the Islamic Republic has also suffered the greatest financial and human losses in its efforts to fight drug trafficking, Abtahi added. - 8/26/09
Photos: Special Iranian Pastry for Ramadan - Zolbia Bamieh
Zolbia Bamieh is one of the favorite deserts in Iran. It is made of starch, yoghurt, flour, saffron, oil, and rose water. Following photos show the baking of Zolbia Bamieh in a pastry shop in the central city of Qom. The pastry shops are enjoying brisk business during the fasting month of Ramadan. -Photos by Mohammad Akhlaghi, ISNA - 8/25/09
Photos: Hazelnut Festival in Qazvin, Iran
People in Qazvin, Iran, celebrate hazelnut harvesting each year by holding a special festival. Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran with an estimated population of 331,409 in 2005. -Photos by Sina Shiri, ISNA - 8/22/09
Physicians Day: No job security for Iranian physicians
According to official figures, there are about 110,000 general practitioners and specialists working across the country. They sometimes earn less than those in occupations requiring lower levels of qualification and expertise, despite the often grueling challenges they face in their work. - 8/22/09
Sepideh Farsi's "Tehran without Permission" at Hamburg Film Festival
"Tehran Without Permission" (2009) captures the atmosphere of the street as well as of private living environments within the Iranian capital. Filmed exclusively with a mobile phone camera, sometimes hidden, this documentary film is a personal, high spirited portrait of Teheran and its population, caught up in contradictions and extremes. - 8/22/09
Prohibition: Alcoholic Drinks Network Busted in Tehran
Iran began restricting alcohol consumption and production soon after the 1979 Revolution, with harsh penalties meted out for violations of the law. However, there is widespread violation of the law. Officially recognized non-Muslim minorities are allowed to produce alcoholic beverages for their own private consumption and for religious rites such as the Eucharist. - 8/22/09
Photos: Bal Norouz (Gilani New Year) Traditional Ceremony
Bal Norouz, meaning the Norouz fire, is the start of Gilan New Year, in which fire lighting is one of its most important programs, and from long past the people would welcome the New Year by lighting fire. Lighting the fire, thanking God for his blessings and crops, and praying for the peace of the souls of the dead were parts of this ancient Iranian tradition. This ceremony coincides with harvesting in Gilan, a northern province in Iran. -Photos by Narges Tankberis, ISNA - 8/21/09
Early Ramadan Raises Health Concerns
For the first time in a decade, Muslims will be observing the holy month of Ramadan in what will be the peak of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The timing has prompted concerns over how Muslim believers can deal with sunrise-to-sunset food and water abstention, while maintaining their health. - 8/20/09
Germans wary as mosque rises in Cologne
Necla Kelek, a prominent feminist and social scientist of Turkish descent, says mosques are different from churches and synagogues. Their use as community centers make them "obstacle to integration" she says, pointing out that original plans for the Cologne mosque designated only one-fifth of its space for prayer: The rest was for a doctor's office, a bakery, a hairdresser, a law office, and a bank, among other things -Christian Science Monitor - 8/11/09
New insight into Iran's past: Landlord Villages of the Tehran Plain
A University of Leicester archaeologist has just returned from a period of fieldwork in Iran, working on the first archaeological project in the country to explore the very recent past. Dr Ruth Young, of the School of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Leicester, has been looking at the effects the Iranian White Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s had on the ancient 'Landlord Villages' of the early Islamic period of the country's history. - 7/13/09
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